my pockets are burning...

Web/Tech

01/22/2014

I hate to admit it, but I have a problem. Most of the time, I'm not that into video games. My boyfriend will be the first to tell you that as soon as I get a gun in my hand, I can't figure out how to not look at the sky. But every once in awhile, I find a game that I like, and then I can't stop.

I grew up playing video games. I had a Super Nintendo, an N64, a Game Cube, a Wii ... the Super Mario theme song is my ring tone. But wait, I'm not done embarrassing myself yet. The radio station I listen to has a video game report, and that's how I heard about "Don't Starve" for PS4. Since my boyfriend is a video game fiend and new owner of a PS4, I asked him about it. He downloaded "Don't Starve" for free, and so my obsession began.

So maybe I lost hours of my weekend surviving in this Tim Burton-esque world of werepigs where growing a beard is a skill. And maybe I downloaded the game to my Macbook. Don't worry about it. But if you were an "Animal Crossing" junkie like I once was, I recommend "Don't Starve." I just had to say my piece. I'll be back tomorrow to discuss less nerdy things.

10/23/2013

Thanks to my subscriptions to Fast Company, Wired, Design Bureau, HOW, and Print magazine (I have a problem, obviously. Thanks for noticing.), my daily reading of theSkimm, and my obsessive-compulsive loading and re-loading of Gawker and Gizmodo, I discover a lot of things that blow my mind/earn a bookmark/make me feel better about humanity.

I'm pretty sure that all of these things I've found lately are making me a better person, if only incrementally, so I encourage you start downloading and/or subscribing.

1. The ListservePerhaps you've already heard of this, but I'm going to tell you anyway. The Listserve is a daily email from a rando who is also a member of the Listserve about anything they deem interesting, annoying, or thought-provoking. I read the Listserve most days during my lunch break -- it's like having lunch with someone who's really passionate about something I've probably never heard about.

2. Oyster BooksThis is Netflix for books, which, if you ask me, is the greatest invention ever. For $10 a month, you can read as many books in their app's library as you want, from your iPhone or iPad. My reading list is already a little out of hand, and that's just the way I like it.

3. PhotoYOLOThis is basically the same idea as the Listserve, except instead of sharing ideas and stories, users share photos. So everyday, there's a random, out-of-context photo in my email. Most days, they confuse me, but every once in awhile, they're intriguing.

4. Spirit Junkie AppEveryday, an alarm goes off on my phone reminding me to check my Spirit Junkie app's affirmation or thought of the day. So at 9:30am on the dot, I'm reminded that I should love myself, love others, be grateful for all things, or some combination thereof. If you ask me, that's probably the best way to begin any and all work days.

08/28/2013

I have to admit, I have a weak spot for retro headphones. You know what? I'm just going to say it: I want to be Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer. When you're done judging me, you can continue reading.

Done? Good. So as I was saying, I've come to the decision that it's time to build my retro headphone collection. I already have a pair of pink Zumreeds that I bought from Urban Outfitters (of course) many moons ago to be my "work headphones." But as my Labor Day beach vacation draws near, I've chosen to purchase a pair of "travel headphones."

After weeks of scrutinizing the aspects of the headphones featured below, I landed on the white Eskuche pair. But not before agonizing on the LSTN headphones, which are made of reclaimed wood and help deaf people hear. Did you catch that? They're the Toms of headphones. But maybe one day I'll have $150 to drop on a "home" pair, and I'll stop hating myself for being so cheap and not helping the deaf people hear. But if you happen to be richer than I am, I recommend you check them out.

07/16/2013

First thing's first: I love my breakfast sandwiches. Like, love. Like, so much love, my boyfriend bakes biscuits on the weekend so I can have a breakfast sandwich when I roll out of bed. So, of course, when I saw this breakfast-sandwich-making-wonder, my jaw may have hit the keyboard. Maybe I drooled a little bit. But no matter. This is America, and we like our gadgets, goddamit.

Which brings me to this USB light. Obviously, I'm not the only weirdo who stays up late, tapping away at my computer, and yes, I would like a little ambience. Especially the kind that makes me feel like a mad inventor working by candlelight and/or laptop-powered-work-of-art.

Finally, the packing tape. It doesn't really make me love America any more than I already do, but it does make me love the fact that this country raises adorably hipster package designers who think of things like cleverly created packing tape.

05/08/2013

Today is the one-year anniversary of The Spendicate! It's hard to believe that I've been sharing my shopping obsession with you good folks for a year now. It feels like just yesterday that I was scribbling around on my laptop when my doppleganger appeared from the ether. So to celebrate, let's look back at my five favorite Spendicate posts, in no particular order:

01/16/2013

I'm trying to resist joining one of these new-fangled subscription services where I could get a whole box filled with amazing things delievered to my doorstep on the regular. Question is: do I want healthy snacks? New beauty finds? Or a plethora of hipster home goodness? I think we all know the answer to this. Stay tuned for further developments on my mailbox.

12/18/2012

I know I can't be the only one counting down the days until our long weekend is finally here. I got a little too excited the other day and decided to download an app to reinforce my crazy. I'm kind of obsessed with it. It's been giving me updates on just how close Friday happens to be, and the design is easy on the eyes. So, I mean, if you're looking for another pointless app to download, why not? It's free. Also, I can't decide if it's reassuring or depressing to know that my quarter-life crisis is 185 days away. Regardless, download it and wish your life away like I've been doing lately.

12/03/2012

Despite all being 20-somethings on tracks towards successful careers, my friends and I all seem to be broke. And I'm proud to say that, without debate, we came to the conclusion that we should dress up and go somewhere classy for a nice holiday meal instead of fretting over gifts for one another. However, I still love finding funny/stupid/perfect gifts, so I did some searching anyway. Since my friends have all decided to be so responsible, here's what I won't be buying this year (but you definitely should.) Each pick is under $25, so you have no excuses, my dear brokety-brokesters.

12/01/2012

Let the gift guides begin, starting with a few suggestions for that person in your life who never seems to be happy with anything you buy. Sure, they'll tell you to their face, "ooh.. thanks ... I love it," but then the gift never again sees the light of day. Instead of giving up on these impossible friends, embrace their highbrow tastes with ridiculously useful and/or ridiculously unnecessary knick-knacks. I, for one, would love to spend a Sunday afternoon felting a mini owl friend. Also, food never loses.

11/12/2012

Writers are often self-deprecating. Even in my graduate-level writing class, when a classmate of mine passes out his essays for us to workshop, he always says, "You really don't have to read it. It's not very good."

But this week, from the links here, here, and here that have shown me that I'm not writing to an infinite abyss to a coworker telling me that "I always find the cutest things," I've been reminded of why I write this blog.

And it's got me thinking about what a person needs to be a blogger. As it turns out, not a whole lot.

1. Hopefully, you have a computer. If not, the library offers free internet. If you have no computer and no library card, then God help you. It's 2012.

2. Coffee. A lot of it. And a Starbucks that you don't mind sitting in for hours on end.